The Economist’s glass-ceiling index

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ARE WORKING conditions getting any better for women? The Economist’s “glass-ceiling index” offers some clues. Each year, to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, we crunch the numbers on ten indicators—from labour-force participation and salaries to paid parental leave and political representation—for 29 members of the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries. Since we started in 2013 the pace of change has been glacial, but in most places things are at least moving in the right direction. Our chart below shows where women’s professional opportunities are greatest relative to those of men.